South Side tops Lynbrook, 46-38

After falling behind for the first time with 4:11 remaining in last Friday’s Nassau Conference A-II girls’ basketball showdown, South Side held visiting Lynbrook without a field goal the rest of the way and took hold of first place with a 46-38 victory.

Senior Lauren Lopresti and junior Allison Bannon both went 2-for-2 from the foul line in the final minute as the Lady Cyclones held on to improve to 4-0 in conference play and 6-3 overall. Senior Megan Lonergan had a team-high 11 points and senior Christina Merrifield added 10 points and eight rebounds. The Lady Owls (2-1, 5-2) got a game-high 19 points from junior Brooke Gerstman and 15 from freshman Jen Fay.

“We put a huge emphasis on this game,” South Side coach Katelynn Dunn said. “Lynbrook is the team we need to go through if we want to win the conference championship. Our girls knew what they were up against, and they were up to the challenge.”

The Lady Owls trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half and led only once all night — after Gerstman sank the second of two foul shots to make it 35-34 midway through the fourth quarter. But they would miss their last seven shots from the floor and managed just three Fay free throws the rest of the way.

“We prepared hard for this game,” Lynbrook coach Heather Manikas said. “We battled, but never really got over the hump. Their zone defense put us at a disadvantage and we got off to a slow start offensively.”

South Side took a 29-24 lead into the fourth but the Lady Owls wouldn’t go quietly. Gerstman opened the final quarter with her fourth three-pointer, but Lonergan answered with a traditional three-point play. After a hoop by Lopresti (eight rebounds, four assists), Gerstman triggered an eight-point outburst that brought the game’s first lead change. Junior Maria Randazzo’s short banker tied it.   

“We knew it would be a tough game,” Lopresti said. “We weren’t expecting anything else.”

Down the stretch, the Lady Cyclones’ inside game proved too much. Lonergan put them ahead for good, 36-35, with a put-back and two straight baskets by Merrifield provided breathing room. Senior Brianna McNally added a key shot late.   

“It was a playoff atmosphere,” Dunn said. “We focused on defense the last few days of practice and brought the intensity.”

Led by Merrifield’s three baskets from inside the paint, South Side got out of the gate quickly by scoring eight of the game’s first 10 points and led for three-and-a-half quarters. Lynbrook’s perimeter offense was consistent, but little happened in the paint.

“A loss like this can work one of two ways,” Manikas said. “I think it’ll make us hungrier. We need to do a few things better when they come to our place. We didn’t do a great job with help defense and we struggled rebounding.”

South Side visits Lynbrook on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.